Beauty and the Beast Teaser Debut Beats Force Awakens
The teaser trailer for Disney's upcoming Beauty and the Beast live-action adaptation pulled in more views during its first day than any other film.
According to Disney (via The Hollywood Reporter), the teaser pulled in a whopping 91.8 million views during its first 24 hours, eclipsing Star Wars: The Force Awakens' teaser, which was the prior record holder with 88 million views.
Right behind The Force Awakens is the trailer for Marvel Studios' recently released Captain America: Civil War, which now stands in third place with 61 million views. The second Force Awakens teaser is fourth with 55 million views and Avengers: Age of Ultron rounds out the top five with 34 million.
Wolverine 3 Villains Rumored
Hugh Jackman will face off against an original villain played by Boyd Holbrook in his final Wolverine film, but Holbrook's character isn't the only bad guy according to a new report.
Spoiler warning: The following information could reveal plot details for Wolverine 3.
A group of criminal cyborgs called the Reavers will reportedly appear in Wolverine 3, a source close to the film's production has told Nerdist. Assembled under the leadership of major X-Men bad guy Donald Pierce in the comics, the Reavers are programmed to eliminate mutants.
Jekyll and Hyde actor Richard E. Grant is said to be playing a mad scientist in Wolverine 3. His role has mostly been kept secret, but Nerdist is speculating he could be playing Pierce.
Pokemon GO Battle Mechanics, Gym Details Revealed
As Pokemon GO's early testing begins in the United States, The Pokemon Company and developer Niantic revealed new information about the upcoming mobile game.
The augmented reality game will allow players to find and capture over 100 different Pokemon. Players use Poke Balls to catch Pokemon; players will throw them at Pokemon, and hope it stays shut. Poke Balls and other "special" items are available at PokeStops—which are located at "interesting" public spots like art installations and historical monuments.
Pokemon GO players can engage in gym battles as part of one of three teams. Gyms, like PokeStops, are located in real-world locations.
Gyms are up for grabs in Pokemon GO. Players use their captured Pokemon to battle with other Pokemon assigned to other's gyms, and have the chance to claim it for their own once the gym's prestige level reaches zero. The claimant must then assign their own Pokemon to the gym and battle others to restore its prestige.
Disney Considering Live-Action Little Mermaid
A live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid from Disney may be on the way, as the studio is currently exploring the possibility.
According to Deadline, Disney executives are "in the early stages of reviving" the beloved fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The outlet notes that "initial discussions have also taken place with major producers, including some with a strong connection to the studio."
Disney has been particularly aggressive these past few years in adapting fairy tales for live-action. Most recently, the studio released Jon Favreau's The Jungle Book to much critical acclaim (a sequel to that film is already in development). And earlier this week, the studio also debuted the first teaser trailer for its upcoming Beauty and the Beast adaptation, which stars Emma Watson as Belle.
Starz Moving Ash vs Evil Dead, Black Sails, Outlander to Sundays
Sundays are about to become even busier for TV viewers, as Chris Albrecht, CEO of Starz, is moving the network's entire original programming slate from Saturday to Sunday nights.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the likes of Outlander, Black Sails, Ash vs Evil Dead and the remainder of Starz' original series will be moving.
"Saturdays have worked so well that we feel our shows are going to be able to stand up on the most watched night of the week," said Albrecht.
The switch means they'll be going to a particularly busy and talked about night of TV, airing against the likes of Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, but THR says Albrecht believes the risk "is worth being part of the Sunday night conversation."
WWE Smackdown Going Live, Moving Nights
WWE SmackDown is moving to Tuesday nights starting July 19, and for the first time ever, the show will air live each week. WWE also has revealed that SmackDown will now feature its own distinct cast from WWE RAW, along with "unique storylines, and a dedicated writing team."
This gives USA Network five hours of live WWE programming each week, including RAW. WWE will soon feature a new Superstar draft storyline that will divide the roster between the two shows, harkening back to the old days when the two shows had a much more distinct split and draft scenarios were commonplace.
In recent years, almost all of WWE's notable storyline swerves and big moments occurred on RAW, with SmackDown perceived as a show where little of significance occurred - only amplified due to it taping on Tuesdays and airing on Thursdays, meaning it was easy to read spoilers posted from those who were in attendance in the arenas where it was filmed. Making SmackDown live, with its own group of wrestlers, looks to be pushing the show in a much bigger way again and making it a much more important part of WWE's weekly programming.
GoT Showrunners Apologize for Unintentional Meme Consequences
Spoilers for Sunday's episode of Game of Thrones, "The Door," continue below. Read on at your own risk.
Game of Thrones' showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss know they've crossed a line that can never be uncrossed. They've done something permanent on their show that is going to be stuck in pop culture forever. If you missed the news, "Hodor" = "Hold The Door."
"We'd like to apologize for Sunday's episode," Weiss said in a pre-taped video on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Benioff added, "Not for killing Hodor -- we kill a lot of main characters ... We're sorry for all the idiots that, from now on, will be shouting 'Hodor!' every time you go through a door."
Bleszinski Says Some at Epic Thought Gears of War Was a ‘Fluke’
Boss Key Productions co-founder Cliff Bleszinski has shed light on why he left Epic Games, discussing his frustration with the company, as some developers at the studio thought Gears of War was "kind of a fluke."
"It's simple: a big Chinese company comes along and I had a chunk of ownership at Epic and they buy out 40 percent of it without any strings attached," Bleszinski said on the latest episode of IGN Unfiltered when asked why he retired.
"Epic at the time, and I say this very carefully because they've really kind of changed into their own entity.... But at the time there was this whole like 'Gears was kind of a fluke,' you know, and I could pitch any idea to the company and inevitably I'd have somebody in my office going 'I don't buy it.'"
8 Big Changes From Justice League’s Darkseid War Finale
DC's massive "Darkseid War" storyline wrapped up in the pages of Justice League #50 today, and it was a doozy. This comic introduced a number of big changes to the DCU that will impact both heroes and villains leading into DC Rebirth. We're breaking down the eight key developments below.
Art by Jason Fabok
Beware of spoilers for Justice League #50!
Smaller Xbox Reportedly Coming in 2016, More Powerful ‘Scorpio’ in 2017
Reports say Microsoft is going to be releasing two new Xbox One models over the next two years.
According to Kotaku, three anonymous sources have spoken about a smaller, cheaper Xbox One which will release this year, with one of the sources saying it will contain a larger 2TB hard drive.
Next year, we'll reportedly be getting a more powerful version of the Xbox One, codenamed "Scorpio," with a better GPU that can handle 4K resolutions. Sources say there are no current plans to upgrade the I/O speed of the console in addition to the GPU, which could mean longer load times.